Social Media Impact on Mental Health Overestimated, New Research Finds

A new study conducted by Curtin University has challenged the widely held belief that heavy social media use significantly impacts mental health. The research found a minimal if any correlation between time spent on social media, like Instagram, and mental health indicators like depression, anxiety, and stress. Interestingly, the study suggests that the impact of social media on mental health isn’t always negative.

Study lead and PhD candidate Chloe Jones said it was important to stress the findings don’t suggest social media use is harmless or has no impact on mental health, however the relationship between the two likely has many complex layers.

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“For example, a connection to a supportive online community could be a lifeline for people living in isolation, but hours of scrolling Instagram influencers could be really unhelpful if you have body image concerns,” Ms. Jones said.

This contradicts what most people have heard about social media like Facebook and Instagram. A number of lawsuits were filed against Meta, the parent company of Instagram, alleging that Instagram harmed the emotional health of teenage girls. Specifically, the suits alleged that the plaintiffs suffered from eating disorders.

In 2021 it was revealed that Facebook knew for years that Instagram can be dangerous to youth. Thirty-two percent of young, female Instagram subscribers were shown to be harmed by the social media platform, according to Facebook’s own study that it conducted in March 2020.

The American Congress even held hearings into the matter and the European Union has imposed sanctions and stricter regulations.

However, this new study challenges the previously held beliefs about social media harming mental health.

While most previous studies on social media use have relied on self-reported estimates from participants, researchers from the Curtin School of Population Health collected mobile phone data from more than 400 people ranging from 17-53 years old, to accurately measure how much time they spent on social media in the past week.

The team then compared the usage data against the participants’ levels of depression, anxiety, stress and attentional control. They found social media use was very weakly associated with anxiety and not associated with depression or stress.

It was also found to have a weak positive association with attentional control, suggesting increased social media use is linked with slightly better performance in maintaining attention.

“If we are going to make well-informed decisions in this space, it needs to be based on quality data and our research demonstrates when you objectively measure time spent on social media, the effects are tiny or non-existent,” Ms. Jones said.